December 11, 2006, 10:30 PM EST
One thing is certain as the Allen Iverson saga continues to play out: Iverson won't be suiting up for the 76ers tomorrow night when the Boston Celtics play in Philadelphia.

The question both inside and outside the Celtics' locker room last night at the Garden was: Will Iverson be suiting up for Boston?

A day after evaluating several trade proposals for the disgruntled Iverson, the 76ers hosted Portland last night without him. Iverson, the four-time scoring champion and former league MVP, is not with the team.

A person familiar with the situation said Philadelphia wanted to be in the final stages of a deal by last night and hoped to have something to announce today.

The Celtics are right in the middle of the speculation, having almost landed Iverson before the draft in a three-team trade involving Utah. That deal would've sent Long Islander Wally Szczerbiak to Utah, with the Sixers getting Boston's No. 7 overall pick and Carlos Boo.zer from the Jazz. Celtics were still in the mix Monday, with a deal that would include Al Jefferson and Theo Ratliff with his $11.7-million contract.

The Sixers reportedly want to include forward Chris Webber, who has $43 million remaining on his contract, but teams are balking at that idea.

"If it happens, great," Szczer.biak said. "He's a great player. But we'll focus on what we have in here and continuing to get better as a team."

Jefferson said neither Rivers nor general manager Danny Ainge had spoken with him about it. "I don't want it to happen, especially my name involved in it," Jefferson said. Told after the game that Jefferson doesn't want to be traded, Rivers said: "He won't be. I try to stay out of it because I have to coach the players and I don't want to lie to the players. But I'm pretty comfortable in saying that Al will be here."

Golden State and Sacramento also appear to be among the teams most likely to acquire Iverson.

Indiana emerged Monday as a strong player, with discussions centering around Jamaal Tinsley and Stephen Jackson.

Dallas and New Orleans have enough expiring contracts to make a deal attractive to the Sixers, and Charlotte is well under the salary cap and needs a franchise player to sell tickets. Memphis could offer the expiring contract of Eddie Jones, but any major moves are on hold because the team is up for sale. Speculation has gone away from Minnesota, Dallas and Denver, three of the early favorites to land him..

"So far, there's been what, 35 teams linked to it in a 30-team league?" Rivers said. "If he couldn't play, I don't think there would be a lot of comments about him."

There are several reasons why I would include Ellis for AI. First, they are the same player (a small 2 guard that shoots a lot). Second, by picking up AI we can unload a bad contract (Murphy, Dunleavy, Richardson) and if King is smoking Foyle. Third, we can't afford Ellis without getting rid of contracts. Nobody wanted Murphy this last pre-season. Fourth, it is easier to pick up a good perimeter player with a late first round, second round pick (Arenas, Ginolbio, Parker, Ellis, Sprewell). Fifth, it is highly unlikely we will sign Ellis for less than 8-10 per year. Finally, I think AI is actually a decent free throw shooter. With a plethora of good teams in the Western Conference, it is essential the Warriors have a go to player for the fourth quarter or we will continue to get the lousy 9-11th pick of the draft.

dareedle wrote:There are several reasons why I would include Ellis for AI. First, they are the same player (a small 2 guard that shoots a lot). Second, by picking up AI we can unload a bad contract (Murphy, Dunleavy, Richardson) and if King is smoking Foyle. Third, we can't afford Ellis without getting rid of contracts. Nobody wanted Murphy this last pre-season. Fourth, it is easier to pick up a good perimeter player with a late first round, second round pick (Arenas, Ginolbio, Parker, Ellis, Sprewell). Fifth, it is highly unlikely we will sign Ellis for less than 8-10 per year. Finally, I think AI is actually a decent free throw shooter. With a plethora of good teams in the Western Conference, it is essential the Warriors have a go to player for the fourth quarter or we will continue to get the lousy 9-11th pick of the draft.

Richardson is not a bad contract....besides this knee injury ordeal, your talkin about a very good all star caliber player thats been improving his numbers since his rookie year....BTW monta is in his second year OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL...which means very young...AI 31....they do need to get rid of murphy, foyle, and dunleavy and package one or 2 with BD and get a 3 team trade..simple as that.

Golden State The A.I. Favorites Amongst 10 Teams?
12th December, 2006 - 8:38 am
Boston Globe -
According to a league source, Golden State is the front-runner for Allen Iverson, offering a package that would include guard Baron Davis and a couple of young players.

According to another league source, the Celtics remain on the list of teams in contention for Iverson's services, along with Minnesota, Indiana, Chicago, Denver, Charlotte, Sacramento, Dallas, and the Clippers.

"He would be upset if that happened," said Pierce about Davis being traded to the Sixers. "Going to Philadelphia? He's a California guy all the way."

i dont think we should give up Monta. He is one of our centerpieces. Same with Biedrins. Everyone else I have no problem trading. Murphy, BD, and Diogu or something like that.

Personally, I wouldn't mind Allen Iverson in place of Baron Davis, and hopefully Dunleavy (I doubt it) but maybe Diogu. In the end, I just dont see it happening though, and they could probably be better without it.

The Warriors spoke to the Sixers about Allen Iverson during the summer, but will be longshots to land the All-Star. Jason Richardson has mixed feelings about whether or not they should trade for him.

"If I vouch for (Iverson) to come, I'd probably be the one leaving," said Richardson. "We'd love for him to come, but you never know. All you can do is control what's on the court and let the front office be the front office."

Asked what kind of teammate Iverson might be, Richardson said, "I've never played with him, but from talking to him a couple of times, he'd be a good teammate. He really plays hard and wants to win.

man that gong to suck if he get traded,i would love to see AI here but for jrich hell no but ion the other hand i wounld trade BD for him

Golden State The A.I. Favorites Amongst 10 Teams?12th December, 2006 - 8:38 amBoston Globe -According to a league source, Golden State is the front-runner for Allen Iverson, offering a package that would include guard Baron Davis and a couple of young players.

According to another league source, the Celtics remain on the list of teams in contention for Iverson's services, along with Minnesota, Indiana, Chicago, Denver, Charlotte, Sacramento, Dallas, and the Clippers.

"He would be upset if that happened," said Pierce about Davis being traded to the Sixers. "Going to Philadelphia? He's a California guy all the way."

i dont think we should give up Monta. He is one of our centerpieces. Same with Biedrins. Everyone else I have no problem trading. Murphy, BD, and Diogu or something like that.

If THE ANSWER came to GS, that would be awesome!!!!

I used the ESPN Trade Machine, and two trades that would work capwise are:

BD and Diogu for The Answer

or

BD and Biedrins for The Answer

I don't know if Philly would take it, BUT the trade value for The Answer is diminished by the fact that he is demanding a trade.

As long as JRich (and Monta Ellis) doesn't go to Philly, I want AI here.

Golden State The A.I. Favorites Amongst 10 Teams?12th December, 2006 - 8:38 amBoston Globe -According to a league source, Golden State is the front-runner for Allen Iverson, offering a package that would include guard Baron Davis and a couple of young players.

According to another league source, the Celtics remain on the list of teams in contention for Iverson's services, along with Minnesota, Indiana, Chicago, Denver, Charlotte, Sacramento, Dallas, and the Clippers.

"He would be upset if that happened," said Pierce about Davis being traded to the Sixers. "Going to Philadelphia? He's a California guy all the way."

i dont think we should give up Monta. He is one of our centerpieces. Same with Biedrins. Everyone else I have no problem trading. Murphy, BD, and Diogu or something like that.

If THE ANSWER came to GS, that would be awesome!!!!

I used the ESPN Trade Machine, and two trades that would work capwise are:

BD and Diogu for The Answer

or

BD and Biedrins for The Answer

I don't know if Philly would take it, BUT the trade value for The Answer is diminished by the fact that he is demanding a trade.

As long as JRich (and Monta Ellis) doesn't go to Philly, I want AI here.

The New York Daily News is reporting that a three-team deal involving the Bulls and Warriors may be a possibility for a trade of Allen Iverson.
The Warriors would possibly send power forward Troy Murphy or point guard Baron Davis to Chicago as part of a package of players, while the Sixers would get Ben Gordon. The Bulls reportedly don't want Iverson as they fear he and Scott Skiles would clash, which makes sense. Other Bulls mentioned going to Philly in a potential deal have been P.J. Brown and ex-Knick Michael Sweetney, each in the final year of his contract. Interestingly, Troy Murphy is not playing for the Warriors on Tuesday night, giving this rumor some extra intrigue. Dec. 12 - 11:18 pm et[/b]

im all down for this. make this **** happen now. we dont have to give up our young guys or j-rich and we get AI? This would be a genius move. Just to get AI for basically Murph and BD is tight. Make it happen...

In reality the Warriors have two lousy contracts (Murphy and Foyle), one bad contract (Dunleavy) and one temporarily bad contract (J-Rich) because of 0 contribution for the year. Given the opinion of the league of AI, it does not make sense to give up Ellis unless we give up a Foyle or Murphy contract as well. How does trading our best player in Baron Davis, our best passer, for a malcontent improve our team? Ironically, Mullin decided to bail on Arenas, Dampier and Jamison for the lousy front court of Murphy, Foyle and Dunleavy. In summary, Foyle does not fit the Nellie system, BD and Ellis make a nice backcourt, Biedrins is a front court stud, Murphy is our biggest liability, and unfortunately our playoff hopes depend on Dunleavy showing up.

Well according to more reporters on the news and columnist, the Warriors appear to be the front runner now. And there has been spectualation that Baron would be included in the trade for AI. The only problem I have with AI coming here is how much longer does he have left in him. I'm pretty sure if AI comes to town, Monta will accompany Baron in the trade.